Tyler Honors Our Local Veterans

Across East Texas today, people offered a show of gratitude for our service men and women. Veterans from different wars and every division united in downtown Tyler this afternoon.

"Today is Veterans Day," said Mayor Joey Seeber, City of Tyler. "A day we celebrate that which we have in common, and that's the support we have for every soldier, every sailor, every airman and every marine, which was deployed and to provide support at home for the cause." The cause is freedom.

"I hope they can realize that freedom is not free," said Bill Watson, Korean Veteran.

"I lost friends in front of me," said William Brown, Vietnam Veteran. "I lost people in back of me and to say these kids that were only 18 or 19, they had no chance of really learning what the world was all about and here they were giving up their lives, but they took that stance to give this country another way of living." During the ceremony, veterans got the opportunity to introduce themselves, and in return they were honored with a certificate and a flag. In the end, there was only one thing to say.

"Thank you for what you have done to help make us free and to make this country a great place to live," said Seeber. The veterans were just as thankful.

"To come back and have a day set aside especially for veterans, to honor us each year, makes me feel proud," said Brown.